One may land in hot water
skating where the ice is thin
or end up in a jam
going out on a limb
and hoping to reach a goal
by swimming upstream
could prove no more than a wish
perhaps purely a pipe dream
investing the least
wanting the lion's share
the end result
might induce a scare
woolgathering head in the clouds
unaware of what's around
sounds like fun but more's accomplished
with both feet on solid ground
No more waiting or hesitating
taking off on a whim and a prayer
making do with whatever's there
going out on a limb
skating where the ice is thin
gotta get going as the going's good
gonna do what I can and should
on my way on the run
to make hay in the sun
not walking
now time's a wasting
while they're talking
nothing's being done
made my bed and I'll lie in it
come what may even die in it
'til that day dawns have to confess
I now know less
than I once knew
I am who I am's
why I do what I do
(Verse 1)
This empty room still hums your favorite song,
Sunlight cuts the dust where your laugh belonged.
I trace the cracks in every worn-out tile,
Searching for your shadow one more mile.
(Chorus)
**I can still feel you like a phantom limb—**
A ghost in every room, under my skin.
This house is just a cage of might-have-beens...
*I reach for you, but all I touch is wind.*
(Verse 2)
Your coffee cup’s a fossil on the shelf,
I talk to it like I talk to myself.
That sweater in the closet still holds heat,
Smells of rain and old dreams, bittersweet.
(Chorus)
**I can still feel you like a phantom limb—**
A ghost in every room, under my skin.
This house is just a cage of might-have-beens...
*I reach for you, but all I touch is wind.*
(Bridge)
The neighbors say, *"You should turn the page..."*
But how do I quit a ghost I still stage?
These walls rehearse the echo of your name—
A silent fire only you could tame.
(Outro Chorus)
**I can still feel you like a phantom limb...**
*(Whispered, fading)*
*...All I touch is wind.*
Octopus hide in your sea garden
Two tentacles bit by a marlin
Afraid to reach out
though never a doubt
New limbs sprout, no better a bargain!
I count fifteen enormous branches on my giant oak
If lightning got them and they fell, it would be no joke.
I bet each one of them weighs at least forty pounds
This magnificent tree might be the largest oak around.
A tall tree I did climb,
on a bet of a dime.
Baby Bear said it was funny,
it was not for the big money.
The limb broke what a crime.
If only you could see
the forest for the trees
it would feel so good
for then as an evergreen
you'd be out of the woods
and if you cared for me
going out on a limb
tho' not on bended knee
I'd ask you to become
a branch of my family
so near and yet so far
you touched me to
the roots of my heart
and as one fir to another
I bough to you
with all it may impart
for yes I too am a conifer
and what's a tree to do
but stand here in the shade
patiently before I wilt away
while I pine for you
tree limb breaks away
the ice storm gave no free rain
limb so very young
Was that a creaking limb?
I look up at a large oak soldier
Noticing an enormous squirrel nest for the first time
It is two feet wide, about fifty feet up on a large branch
A raven pushes off another branch
I hear the creaking limb sound a second time
Realizing it is his wings flapping against the air
Shattered Limb
broken tree limbs
lie shattered on the ground
no longer useful
the one-armed veteran
looks on with understanding
A most neglected of limbs is the wrist
Next to a place where ladies still get kissed
Smack dab on dainty hand
Is where smooches do land
Hard bony wrists are just not in demand
Ok I am going to trot this one out once again
not knowing if it will be better received than
When it flopped in Peoria.
I love to hear people laugh.I love to have a part in making people laugh.Sometimes I get carried
away in that pursuit.
Once while talking on the phone to my oldest sister
and hearing her little giggle I retold a joke
my brother the crass master had told.
Granted it was borderline yet bizarre enough
that it would not offend I believed
You be the judge......Hey Deloris I said did you hear about that guy that died while eating fresh mountain oysters?No,in a voice of concern she said. Yeah,seems the hog drug him through a barbed wire fence............silence.......more silence
Yet still more s....... well you get the picture.
I don't consider myself to be a heathen but then this stuff happens.
Don't know exactly what she found off color about it.Feel free to clue me in.I never asked her about it
as her infinite silence was all the chastising I can handle in that regard.So shoot me a line kids,Set me straight. Should I cull this one for good?
Eagle on a Limb
The faraway gaze
of an eagle on a limb
is mesmerizing.
***
Note:
The eagle in Chinese paintings is symbolic of heroism and when portrayed in a pine tree, symbolizes strength combined with longevity of life.
The man went out on a limb
To hire his best friend Kim
Who was dingy as hell
He couldn’t even spell
Put his signature name as Jim
One sunny afternoon amid a snowstorm
appeared a lovely rainbow.
A canary on a limb chirped a sweet tune,
but he had no voice and was tone-deaf.
The small blind hound below witnessed
the whole show.
If you doubt the story, call up the deaf
mouse that’s studying to be a chef.
09/07/2021
Contest:Nonsense Rhyme
Sponsor: Charles Messina
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